Angels! Those sacred Heavenly Beings who are sent to watch over us, day and night. When we believe in them and talk to them, regularly, they will protect us from virtually all danger … unless it is something we are supposed to experience as part of our spiritual growth process. 　We are never alone!

 ANGELS IN HISTORY

Angels have been a part of man’s sacred writings since man discovered writing. In the Judeo-Christian traditions, they first show up in the Bible’s Book of Genesis, when God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and: “. . . He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim[s], and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24, King James version) or, “. . . placed mighty angels at the east of the garden of Eden, with a flaming sword to guard the entrance to the Tree of Life”.” (Genesis 3:24, Living Bible.) In this passage, as well as every time angels are mentioned in the sacred writings of the Judeo/Christian world, as well as Islam, the word that is translated as Angel came from ancient words meaning messenger, especially as a Messenger from God. 　But mentions of messengers of the gods go back well before that time. 　It seems that, as long as man has written about God or gods, there have been some sort of figures who brought their messages to man.

Sometimes they were visible to the recipient of the message, and sometimes they weren’t. 　Sometimes only their voices were heard. Other times they appeared in human form, or in dreams. 　　It appears that they can take whatever form they desire to best perform their duty. 　However, whether they chose to reveal themselves visually or not, if they came unbidden, their messages seldom went unheeded; they made a very strong impression indeed!

Other times, they try to influence us to do the right thing in relatively subtle ways, that still, small voice within. 　These contacts are from our personal Guardian Angels who are with us all the time, trying to help us in every way they can. 　We can learn to listen to them, and it will change our lives! 　More about that later.

 Angels, in one form or another can be found in the writings of The Hebrews, Judaism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Later Day Saints, (Mormons) Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as well as many other lesser-known religions. In some religions, they show up as so-called lesser gods. 　In some they are know as devas 　In many Native American beliefs, they are nature spirits. 　Mention of these higher spiritual beings can be found back as far as the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians. 　But, almost universally, they are known as holding a position somewhere between God and man.

 ANGELS AND SPIRIT GUIDES

Are angels the same as spirit guides? 　In most traditions they are not the same. With rare exceptions, the term spirit guides refers to personalities who have experienced life on earth as human beings, and volunteer to help living people with their spiritual growth as well as day to day activities. 　It is said that people can train themselves to open to their spirit guides and learn much from them.

Angels, on the other hand are said to have been created as God’s servants way back before humanity was created, and have not and will not experience life as a human being. 　In fact, it is said that certain of the angels counseled God not to create humans, because they would be wicked and break God’s Laws in all sorts of ways. (They certainly had something there.)

However, God decided to create man anyway and . . . “He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 　They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” 　(Psalms 91: 11-12) 　It is obvious that angels were meant to help man in every way they could, and their ways are formidable, but they couldn’t interfere with his free will. 　And therein lies the rub: if we are free to make our own decisions, we must, necessarily, deal with the consequences of them. 　The angels can’t interfere with that in any way.

The angels are here for us, though, and their powers are far beyond those of the spirit guides; they can perform true miracles, and very often do.

GUARDIAN ANGELS

Many belief systems, again dating way back into antiquity, believe that each of us has a guardian angel. 　In fact, many people believe that we each have two. Many of us have become aware of them through psychic development, and some get to know them as children and keep the awareness all of their lives. 　Many times a child’s imaginary playmates are, in fact their guardian angels in communication with them. 　Unfortunately, far too often their parents accuse them of lying or making it all up. 　They are told it isn’t real so often that they finally, in self defense, close themselves to the awareness. That’s the bad news…

The good news is: we can train ourselves to listen for them and, again, open ourselves up to our natural awareness and communion. 　It is beyond the scope of this article to teach you how to do that. There are many books available,though, which can help you with developing that ability. 　I’ll list some at the end of this article.

Now: except in cases of rare emergencies, your guardian angel can’t help you unless you ask for help. 　In other words, they will not— ever—butt in to your life; they must be invited. 　And, it is made very clear in many spiritual writings, that you don’t pray to them. Pray to God, in whatever way you refer to The Divine, not the angels. 　But – you can ask your angels to put in a good word for you, to intercede.

You can prepare yourself for communication with your angels through meditation or just quiet listening. 　Doreen Virtue, PhD, has written many books on the subject and, created several oracle card decks that can help you contact them. Your angels can control the card you draw to bring you the message you need when you draw it. 　I use these cards, myself, and find them to be more than helpful in my life. 　

 Angel expert, Doreen Virtue, PhD, through her study, has settled on fifteen Archangels, taken from various, “Jewish, Cabalistic, Christian, Catholic and Islamic ancient spiritual practices, texts and beliefs.” 　Alphabetically, they Are: Ariel, Azreal, Chamuel, Gabriel, Haniel, Jeremiel, Jophiel, Metatron, Michael, Raguel, Raphael, Raziel, Sandalphon, Uriel and Zadkiel. 　These are the Archangels she has used in her Archangel Oracle Cards.

It is believed by many that the Archangels, being unlimited in time or space, will help you if you ask them to do so. They are never too busy. While I, personally, wouldn’t call on the Archangels for everyday situations (your Guardian Angels are there for that), they are available to you.

Some excellent books, by Doreen Virtue, Joan Wester Anderson, Richard Webster, and others can give you several techniques to use to establish contact with your Guardian Angels and the Archangels. 　They can be found at most metaphysical book stores as well as the website below. 　A search for the subject and authors will turn up many more books than I had room to list, here.

This is a subject that can involve a lifetime of study. 　

Here are some suggestions for you:

ALL OF DOREEN VIRTUE'S BOOKS CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.angeltherapy.com/

 THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT LLEWELLYN.COM

Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians: Contact Your Invisible Helpers 　by: Richard Webster

Praying with Angels:  Reverence for angels spans culture, faith, and time. 
by: 　Richard Webster 　

Michael: Communicating with the Archangel for Guidance & Protection 　by: Richard Webster

Raphael:　Communicating with the Archangel for Healing & Creativity 　by: 　Richard Webster

Angel Magic:   A Hands-On Guide to Inviting Divine Help into Your Everyday Life…
By: Cassandra Eason

The Angel Code:  Your Interactive Guide to Angelic Communication… By: Chantel Lysette

And Many, Many More…

 Visit Llewellyn.com Here!